FAINT • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Faint

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adjective

Faint adj. (compar. fainter; superl. faintest)

Lacking strength; weak; languid; inclined to swoon; as, faint with fatigue, hunger, or thirst.

Wanting in courage, spirit, or energy; timorous; cowardly; dejected; depressed; as, "Faint heart ne'er won fair lady."

Lacking distinctness; hardly perceptible; striking the senses feebly; not bright, or loud, or sharp, or forcible; weak; as, a faint color, or sound.

Performed, done, or acted, in a weak or feeble manner; not exhibiting vigor, strength, or energy; slight; as, faint efforts; faint resistance. "The faint prosecution of the war."

verb

Faint v. t. To cause to faint or become dispirited; to depress; to weaken. (Obs.) "It faints me to think what follows."

Faint v. i. (past & past part. fainted; pres. part. fainting)

To become weak or wanting in vigor; to grow feeble; to lose strength and color, and the control of the bodily or mental functions; to swoon; sometimes with away. See Fainting, n. "Hearing the honor intended her, she fainted away." "If I send them away fasting... they will faint by the way."

To sink into dejection; to lose courage or spirit; to become depressed or despondent. "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small."

To decay; to disappear; to vanish. "Gilded clouds, while we gaze upon them, faint before the eye."

noun

Faint n. The act of fainting, or the state of one who has fainted; a swoon. (R.) See Fainting, n. "The saint, Who propped the Virgin in her faint."

See images of 'Faint'

Etymology of 'Faint'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Faint" Quotes from Famous Books

... came from the people in the court. In the midst of them a woman was creating a commotion. She insisted on going out. She cried aloud that she would faint. It was Mrs. Garth again. The sheriff leaned over the table to ask if these questions concerned the inquiry, but Sim gave no time for protest. He never paused to think if his inquiries had ...

— The Shadow of a Crime - A Cumbrian Romance • Hall Caine

... room above their heads. John felt a sinking sensation of disappointment as he realized it would be impossible for them to hear the conversation between the "Gink" and Gibson from where they were listening. The voices that came down to them were jumbled, faint, indistinguishable. Once Gibson laughed. Again the two voices above them stopped suddenly as if the two conspirators had ...

— Spring Street - A Story of Los Angeles • James H. Richardson

... deeply humbled. He was of a feeble character, arrogant in prosperity, faint-hearted in adversity. Probably an agreement would have been come to between him and Lucullus— an agreement which there was every reason that the great-king should purchase by considerable sacrifices, and the Roman general should grant under tolerable conditions—had not the old ...

— The History of Rome (Volumes 1-5) • Theodor Mommsen

... under foot and their beauty had suffered, their freshness was marred, and their perfume, rising acrid from bruised petals, greeted him unwholesomely after the fresh morning air, and rendered the atmosphere faint and oppressive. The stand with the flower pots, much disarranged, stood as he had left it when he pulled it roughly aside to get at the grate, and the fire had burnt out, leaving blackened embers to add to ...

— The Heavenly Twins • Madame Sarah Grand

... breeze at E., and E.S.E., till we got into the latitude of 7 deg. 45' N., and the longitude of 205 deg. E., where we had one calm day. This was succeeded by a N.E. by E., and E.N.E. wind. At first it blew faint, but freshened as we advanced to the N. We continued to see birds every day of the sorts last mentioned, sometimes in greater numbers than others, and between the latitude of 10 deg. and 11 deg., we saw several turtles. All these are looked upon as signs of the vicinity of land. ...

— A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16 • Robert Kerr

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